The superhero picture set in Japan opened bigger than any previous X-Men movie abroad, making $86.1 million internationally to add to a modest $55 million domestically. The 20th Century Fox project certainly cannot be considered a flop in the U.S - it still earned the No.1 spot - though it made $10 million less than expected.

It will have been an anxious wait for studio executives over the weekend, given the box-office has been a graveyard for big-budget pictures in recent weeks - R.I.P.D, White House Down, The Lone Ranger and After Earth all leaving plenty to be desired.

However, Wolverine opened at the top of the chart in 100 countries, making 51 per cent more than the first movie and 51 per cent bigger than last year's X-Men: First Class.

"The A- CinemaScore and our excellent exit polls are a testament to the high-quality film that James Mangold and Hugh Jackman made. I think Wolverine has advanced to be a very compelling and complex character that audiences have really responded to," said Fox president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson.

Elsewhere at the box-office, last week's No.1, the low-budget horror The Conjuring dropped to No.2 with $22.1 million, while Despicable Me 2 continued its good run and grossed $16 million to beat new animated offering Turbo.

Other than The Wolverine, the box-office success story appeared to be Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine which took $612,767 from just six theaters in New York and Los Angeles. That's a location average of $102,128 - the best since Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master opened in September 2012.